South Sister, Bend Oregon Area     It was mid summer during this climb on South Sister. The weather was ideal without a rain cloud in sight with blue skies above. I pulled up to the Devils Lake trail head that afternoon at, just at the base area or South Sister, around 5:30pm. The air was still warm and very comfortable for climbing. It was a Solo trip today and since it was a Friday the weekend crowd had yet to arrive. I knew that at all costs I would try an avoid this reality of South Sister that brought with it traffic jams and gear heads complaining about how they couldn't find a spot for their brand new Subaru Outback. Then demanding that the forest ranger should intend to do something about such a conundrum. I knew that I had planned on hiking in and camping somewhere along the way to the Summit. So I got to work double checking my bag and loading up on water while munching on the last few deep fried chicken strips that I had purchased from the Safeway deli on the way into Bend by an overtly friendly counter lady asking question like "are you sure you want ranch with that?" Which lead to awkward silences and are you fucking with my lady looks. Some how embracing the fact that I was being punished by some Safeway backwoods counter lady union clause, for my purchase of 1 pound of chicken strips by not being able to correctly answer the question, "so where is the party at..." in complete sentence format. The Sun was low in the sky now and  I told myself to get a move on so I could find a good spot to camp for the night. I locked up the 4runner and made my way past the parking lot out houses and over the roadway to the trail head. The first mile and half is a well managed path through the evergreens that opens up to a large alpine meadow with great views of South Sister. It is at this junction that the first camping area is. The area gets so much traffic that the forest service tries to regulate the areas usage and make sure that minimal impact levels are seen on the landscape with many signs urging you to stay on the carved out trails. Not something that everyone likes to see on in the woods but considering the shear numbers that visit South Sister it is necessary in order to preserve and protect the area.    The weather was still so nice though that I  decided to keep treking  and take in some of the views that would later come to light as the sun set into the valley. Large shadows were being cast in all directs as a cool and very light breeze perpetuated throughout the landscape. I felt great and there were very few people out at this time, most of them on their way back down to their cars. It was at this point that I decided that a mid-night summit was in my best interests and that seeing the sunset, and rise, from above the valley rather than in it would be the best choice. I passed several people and even stopped to chat with a few. Everyone was in good spirits and excited about the amazing weather they had that day.   The hike up from Devils Lake is fairly short, about 5.75 miles one way) taking 4-6 hrs depending on pace. I treked it in about 4 1/2 hours stopping many times for epic photo opts. The sunset that evening was surreal, setting the sky a blazing with the full color spectrum. Deep reds and vivid oranges over powered the sky and caused me to stop constantly to take it all in. Two hours into the hike I saw the last two people of the evening making a late decent. For the rest of the way I truly felt that I had the mountain to myself. The only sounds I heard were either gusts of winds or the pounding of my own two feet on the trail. What a great feeling.    After 10pm the sun had throughly set beneath the western horizon and it was then that the sky lite up with millions of stars and the Milky Way was as bright as I have ever seen it. I had to take a few breaks just to lay there on my back as i stared up into the vast light speckled darkness in complete silence just trying to embrace it all. The last hour of my climb was done via head lamp with only a sliver of the moon out that night providing ample darkness. At this point it was good to make sure that I kept my compass in check because its not hard to get off the loose gravel path towards the top of the mountain. This being said I did spend about 20 minutes off the actual trail scrambling up a loose rock  ridge because of losing the trail. I kept my compass out though and stressed little knowing that I might not be on the beaten path but I was headed in the right direction.    About 15 minutes from the top the wind started to pick up and my shorts and long sleeve t-shirt wasn't cutting it so i layered up with a fleece and shell leaving my legs to suffer in crisp cool night air. TOPO MAP OF SOUTH SISTER CLICK HERE GEAR LIST FOR SOUTH SISTER OVER NIGHT SUMMER CLIMB  South Sister is a pretty mellow climb in the summer months and doesn't require any special gear. Treking poles are alway helpful but that is about it.  Above are Signs marking the trail that leads down to the alpine lake that is seen below. And to your bottom right you can see a good view of Broken top with a lingering cloud formation around the base of it. This is also a very popular climb in the area.  Just above the Marine Lake are huge alpine meadows stretching out across the landscape.    At this point the sun had set through a good amount of the valley floor. Giving me great views from the base area of South Sister. It was here that the trees get fewer and you start your climb up the the south face.   As the sun sunk even lower the skies started to light up creating beautiful colors.  The moon that was out that night just produces a mere sliver of light and was perfect in helping to create a dark night and huge contrast between the sky and land making for dramatic views.  Just providing enough light for a few more pictures I was able to capture these at sunset.  These were a few of my favorite shots and the last two that I was able to take that evening around 9:30pm.    And the two pictures above give you an idea of what sunrise looks like on at 10,000ft. Nothing like waking up in the morning to feezing temps as the sun burns through the thin lingering clouds and your body screams from the inside urging you to stay wrapped up in your bag. It's times like these that let you know that you are alive. Your comfort zones should only exist so they can be broken. Like most things in life there is always that price you have to pay to experience some good. And this might be a small one but for about 10 minutes as you step out into that cold air you swear to yourself that its the worst this ever....  The above picture was taken from the top of South Sister were there are several of these wind shelters built for camping. As you can see from the tops of the rocks that are very volcanic in nature, frost has formed over night creating a natural highlight that will soon melt once the sun sits a little higher in the sky.    South Sister is the tallest of the three sister's (South, Middle, and North). It stands at 10,358ft and as you can see from the above Photo, in the morning hour it can cast quite the epic shadow in the valley below. Seeing such a site that can only be viewed from the top on of such a peak always seems to give me that sense of vastness making it visually clear just how big the Northwest's sleeping giants really are. Gets you every time without fail......  There are many foot hills, Peaks and valleys to be seen from the top rim of the South Sister. The above left picture shows broken top still blanketed with morning clouds. To the right are Middle and North sister. It is not uncommon for climber to do all three peaks in a weekend either. Not to say many do because this takes a toll on the body but it would make for a good backcountry trip.  From the top of South sister a year round glacier is form in the the middle of the crater creating an ice cold mini lake. A defined trail wraps around the rim giving climbers an amazing view in all directions. Camping over night on this sleeping volcano is popular in the summer months. The morning as freezing but waking up to a 10,000ft. sunrise is truly priceless and worth the fridgid morning wake up call.  On the above left is a shot from the crater rim looking down and to the north showing a nice open bowl. To the right is another shot of Marine Lake during the Morning time with the new angle of light giving it a totally different feel  the evening before.